The decision from former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue that Jonathan Vilma will not be suspended for the Saints’ bounty case does not mean Vilma is done fighting.
Vilma’s attorney has already confirmed that the defamation case the Saints linebacker filed against current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will move forward.
“Jonathan intends to continue to pursue the defamation lawsuit in order to reclaim his reputation. We’re pleased that the unjust penalties have been overturned, but this is only one piece in remedying the situation for Jonathan,” attorney Peter Ginsberg told Albert Breer of NFL Network.
That’s no surprise: Tagliabue’s ruling that Goodell was wrong to suspend Vilma is really a separate issue from the question of whether or not Goodell defamed Vilma with his public comments about the bounty case.
And so, while the four players suspended in the bounty case can declare victory in their fight to have the suspensions overturned, the bounty case itself isn’t over. Vilma isn’t backing down from his ongoing fight with Goodell.